This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Conventionally, internal-combustion engines comprise a plurality of cylinders. Each of the plurality of cylinders includes a cylindrical bore having a moveable piston disposed therein and an associated combustion source (e.g. spark plug) to ignite a chemical mixture (e.g. a combination of fuel and air) within the combustion chamber of the cylindrical bore as part of a two-cycle or four-cycle combustion process. The ignition of the chemical mixture by the combustion source results in the production of high-temperature, high-pressure gases that produce useable work (e.g. mechanical power) from the engine.
However, the resultant production of these high-temperature, high-pressure gases leads to the need to cool various portions of the internal-combustion engine. Modern engines, including internal-combustion engines and compression-ignition engines, manage engine operating temperatures using a cooling system. Typically, many modern cooling systems employ a liquid coolant that is particularly well-suited to extract heat from the engine to maintain a proper operating temperature of the various parts of the engine and transfer such heat to a radiator for dissipation. However, this cooling process can be difficult when used with many modern engines that are made of lightweight materials, such as aluminum. These lightweight materials are highly desired because of the associated weight reduction of the engine and, thus, the overall weight of the vehicle. By reducing the weight of the engine and the vehicle, improved fuel economy can be realized. However, lightweight materials used in the manufacture of modern engines have operating temperatures that are less than materials used in previous engines. Therefore, it is often important and/or desirable to carefully manage the operating temperature of these engines and their associated components using improved cooling systems and designs.
For example, in some engines employing four or more cylinders, the liquid coolant can be routed or otherwise pumped along at least a portion of the cylinders to extract heat from the cylinder block. Unfortunately, however, in conventional applications, this liquid coolant is typically introduced at one location, such as a first cylinder, and then travels along the remaining downstream cylinders to effect temperature reduction of the cylinders. As the liquid coolant is introduced and travels along the remaining cylinders, the temperature of the liquid coolant increases, thereby reducing the cooling effect of the liquid coolant on those downstream cylinders. Consequently, the downstream cylinders may not be cooled to the same temperature as the upstream cylinder(s). Accordingly, these downstream cylinders operate at different temperatures and may not remain in ideal operating conditions.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide a cooling system that is capable of provide consistent cooling of the cylinders of an engine. Moreover, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide a cooling system capable of individually cooling each of a plurality of cylinders in the engines to a generally uniform temperature. Still further, there exists a need in the relevant art to provide a cooling system that provides individual feeding ports transferring liquid coolant directly to each of the cylinders to ensure generally uniform temperature of the cylinders.